Title: The Visit - part 1
Word Count: 2479
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, The Doctor; OC's: Stephanie and Ifan Harkness-Jones, future Torchwood team.
Spoilers: None, but this is post-TW series 2 and DW series 4 - by about 50 years.
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack and Ianto (heavy sigh), I'm pretty sure they own each other. I do know the BBC and RTD owns all things Torchwood and Doctor Who.
Warnings: Slash, mentioned MPREG, past character deaths, major fluff.
Summary: The Harkness-Jones has a visitor.
Notes: Written for Day Fifteen of Red is My Colour in early 2009.
Another "Time After Time" 'verse fic. Alrighty now - in the grand tradition of how the fic that kicked this 'verse off, this one is going to be a multi-parter. This was my second time writing the Doctor, so be kind please. Enjoy!
Out from the silent portal of the hours,
When frosts are come and all the hosts put on.
Their burnished gear to march across the night
And o'er a darkened earth in splendor shine,
Slowly above the world Orion wheels
His glittering square, while on the shadowy hill
And throbbing like a sea-light through the dusk,
Great Sirius rises in his flashing blue.
- Bliss Carman
The Winter Scene - Part II
Sometimes Jack would wonder if he should be worried that since Stephanie was born, they were seeing more of the Doctor. Actually Jack could count the times the Doctor showed since she was born on both hands with fingers to spare, but in five years, that was quite often for the Doctor.
They never knew when he would show up, but when he did, he would arrive with gifts from around the universe for Stephanie – and eventually Ifan. It was obvious that the Doctor liked to spoil the children.
It was after dinner; Jack was giving Ifan a bath, while Ianto sat in the family room with Stephanie. As the little girl read to him, they heard the familiar whine of the TARDIS.
Ianto listened for a moment, realizing that Stephanie had stopped reading. Before Ianto was able to move, Stephanie dashed from the couch, and through the house to the kitchen. "Unca Doctor!" she exclaimed.
Ianto shook his head, and closed the abandoned book, setting it on an end table. He got up and went into the hallway. Looking up the stairs, he called out, "Jack, company. The Doctor's here."
Jack appeared at the top of the stairs with Ifan wrapped in a hooded towel. Jack was trying to wrap the little boy in a blanket. "So I heard," Jack said, shifting Ifan to get the blanket around him.
"There goes the neighborhood again," Ianto remarked with a smirk. "One of these days someone is going to notice the TARDIS in our garden."
"You mean someone will think we got eccentric and put in an old blue police box in the garden for the kids," Jack said with a chuckle. He hefted Ifan, now wrapped in the blanket. "I hope the Doctor doesn't expect us to be standing around outside. It's too cold for this bug, especially after his bath."
"My guess is that Stef is chatting up at storm with him as we speak. You take care of Ifan, while I do what I can to invite the Doctor in."
"Right. That sounds good. I'll be down in a bit." Jack grinned at Ianto, before turning and heading through the hallway to the nursery.
Smiling, Ianto went through the house and entered the kitchen, finding the back door open. "Stephanie," Ianto called out as he entered the garden, closing the door behind him. "We do not leave the door open."
Stephanie turned from talking to the Doctor, pouting a little. "I'm sorry, Taddy."
Ianto turned to the Doctor. "Good evening, Doctor. And how long might we expect your company this time?"
The Doctor grinned at Stephanie and winked at her. Straightening himself up to his full height, he replied, "How long? Depends on when Jack decides I should go." In a half mutter, almost to himself, he added, "I don't know what he means by meddling."
Ianto tried not to laugh, but still ended up smiling. "Let's see now? Shall we start a list? Let's wait until we get inside or we'll freeze while I rattle off reasons. Well come along then. And Stephanie, don't pout. It's cold out here and you don't have any outer wear on. Inside, sweet pea. Lead the way."
"Where's Jack?" the Doctor asked after Stephanie grabbed him by his hand and pulled him toward the door.
"He was giving Ifan a bath. He'll join us as soon as they both are dressed."
The Doctor looked back at Ianto in question.
Ianto started to laugh. Stephanie tugged on the Doctor's hand. "Daddy always gets wet when he washes us," informed the little girl.
"Oh dear," the Doctor replied. "But that does sound like Jack, does it?"
"Some things never change, Doctor," Ianto said, with a put-upon sigh.
Once they were in the kitchen, Ianto made himself busy putting on a kettle for tea. "Would you like something to eat, Doctor?" Ianto offered. "We have plenty leftover from dinner." His eyes settled on Stephanie, who was seated next to the Doctor. "Especially vegetables."
Stephanie made a face. "I don't like vegetables. Yucky!"
"Oh, is that so, young lady?" the Doctor asked. When Stephanie nodded, he added, "If you want to travel with me someday, you have to eat your vegetables. All my companions eat vegetables."
"They do?" Stephanie asked, leaning on the table. "Why?"
"Because it's good for all the running we do," came the amused voice from the doorway.
The three in the kitchen looked up to find Jack standing there, holding Ifan. The little boy was dressed in warm pajamas and a dressing gown, while Jack wore simply a tee-shirt and jeans.
Stephanie laughed. "Daddy changed his shirt!" she pointed out.
Ianto rolled his eyes.
Ifan turned in Jack's arms and his eyes lit up. "Unca Docta!"
"Yes, that's Uncle Doctor," Jack said with a chuckle. Both of the children started to call the Doctor that on their own, even if Jack and Ianto suspected Ifan picked it up because of his sister. "Do you want to go and say hello to him?"
Ifan turned back to Jack, his little stubby hands resting on Jack's shoulders, and nodded his head. "Yep!"
Jack gave the little boy a kiss on his forehead and leaned over to set Ifan on his feet. "Go ahead, little man."
"Unca Docta!" Ifan greeted again, toddling quickly across the kitchen.
The Doctor turned in his chair so he was able to pick Ifan up and settle the boy in his lap. "Well there, Ifan. How are you doing?"
"Good." Ifan cuddled closer to the Doctor to hug him, giving him a sloppy kiss. "Unca Docta is here! YAY!"
The Doctor laughed. "Yes I am." He turned to Jack, who went over to give Ianto a quick kiss and was standing next to his partner. "How are you two doing?"
"Two kids, Doctor," Jack replied. "We're both glad we don't get gray hairs yet." He winked and grinned.
"Everything is good," Ianto replied, sounding deeply satisfied and content. "Really good. I still owe you big time, Doctor."
"I'm glad everything worked out better than I expected. Leave it to Jack to have outside forces working for him."
Folding his arms across his chest, Jack gave the Doctor his winning grin. "Hey, not my fault if I have a team that still follow me even in the afterlife."
"Full of yourself much, huh?" Ianto muttered, then laughed at Jack's indignant look. "How do you know it's not me they are rallying behind?" He raised his eyebrow at Jack.
The Doctor let out a short laugh. "That's why he's good for you, Jack. He keeps you grounded," the Doctor commented.
Ianto rubbed Jack's back before turning to the stove. The Doctor watched as Ianto made a pot of tea, as Jack took out mugs from the cupboard.
"When can we finally go in the TARDIS, Unca Doctor?" Stephanie asked, taking the Doctor's attention from the two men.
Ifan nodded his head. "Yep! TARDIS is lonely too, Unca Docta."
They heard a mug hit the counter heavily, and the bang of the kettle on the burner. Both fathers turned to their guest at the table who sat with their children.
The Doctor stared at Ifan with wide eyes. "She is?" he asked.
"Yep! Like Unca Docta," Ifan said, all childhood innocence.
Stephanie hugged the Doctor's arm. "You come and stay with us, but the TARDIS can't. She's lonely too."
Jack's breath came out like a hiss as he shared a look with Ianto.
Ianto cleared his throat. "Right. Why don't you two go and get the gifts you've been making for the Doctor, and we'll all meet in the lounge," he said to the children.
"OH!" Stephanie exclaimed. "We have presents for you, Unca Doctor." She jumped off her chair, and reached up to kiss his cheek. "C'mon Ifan. Let's get Unca Doctor his presents." She held her hand out toward her little brother.
Ifan clapped his hands. "YAY! Presents!" He gave the Doctor another sloppy kiss and scrambled down from the Time Lord's lap, assisted by the Doctor's guiding hands.
The men watched as the two children rushed from the kitchen.
"No running, you two," Jack called out. "The Doctor will still be here when you come down."
Ianto turned to Jack. "Ifan really should be going to sleep soon."
"We'll let them both stay up a little longer tonight," Jack decided. "I doubt they won't last too long after their bedtimes anyway."
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" the Doctor asked.
"No. Not at all. Just another quiet evening at home after getting back from the Hub later than we wanted. We were getting the kids ready for bed, and hoping we wouldn't get any calls saying we were needed back at the Hub," Ianto said. He started to set the tea pot and mugs on a tray. "Jack, grab us some snacks please."
The two men worked in silence as they gathered everything and lead the Doctor into the lounge.
Settled on the couch with tea and a small plate of biscuits, the Doctor looked around at the room. "This is a very nice house." His eyes settled on Jack. "I was so glad to find out you were living here. Although that cottage was quite charming."
Jack sat in an easy chair. "Like we said the last time, our cottage was getting too cramped with two children. Little did we know we'd be using the guest room for you. Are you planning to stay a few days again?"
"If you would have me," the Doctor replied.
"I'll call the others and put Cardiff on alert then," Ianto quipped, only half-joking. Jack snorted, looking amused.
"Oi! I'm not that bad! Am I?" the Doctor asked.
The two men nodded.
The Doctor looked down in his tea. "I just come to say hello. And see how the children are doing."
"I'm sure your intentions are pure, Doctor," Ianto stated. "It's just that Time Lord sense of timing you have there. It seems to put you here when you're needed." He sat down on the arm of the chair Jack was settled in, putting an arm around the immortal's shoulders.
"Well now, that's a good thing. Saving the world and all. Making it safe for your children to grow up in this lovely city of yours." The Doctor sipped on his tea, seeming lost in thought. "Lonely?" he asked, looking up.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"
"It's been a while since we saw you with someone else," Jack pointed out.
"Oh, I've had some traveling companions since I left you here," the Doctor said, gazing over to Ianto. "They just never seem to stay long. I mess up lives, I gather."
"So you took to visiting companions at home?" Jack asked.
"We had a couple of incidents, but like Ianto said, it's all good timing. I like to think that I'm looking out for you and your family."
"So there is something going on," Ianto commented.
"Like always, we'll know if and when we come across it." The doctor had another drink of the tea.
Jack and Ianto shared a look. Jack nodded and Ianto gave him a small smile.
"You do remember that I have exceptionally high psi levels," Ianto broke the sudden uncomfortable quiet.
The Doctor nodded.
"Apparently so does Jack. Not as high as mine, but over the years, we've formed a bond, so they got stronger for him. Especially since we share a family bond with the children."
The Doctor looked at them in curiosity.
"We can't exactly speak to each other in our minds," Jack clarified. "But we can feel each other. It helps with the kids particularly. Sometimes life gets a little rough with us working for Torchwood, and our days get too long. We try to keep the kids part of our daily lives even then, as long as they're not in danger. But the bond lets us know when the danger is not taking a moment to tell them that we love them. To let them know that we are working as hard as we can to make sure we can all go home as soon as possible. And then when we can, to make up for lost time."
"You're all psychic?" the Doctor asked.
"I think the kids got it mostly from Ianto, but the family unit we formed, I'm pretty sure I helped in strengthening their psi levels, just as they do for me," Jack explained.
"They're both pretty sensitive to others' needs," Ianto added. "More than once just one little comment from Stephanie or Ifan and we realize that we've been taking someone from our team for granted or ignoring their needs. Stephanie is the one who noticed something different with Mr. Weebles, which is why we now have a Weevil serving refreshments around the Hub and doing clean up tasks."
"And playing nursemaid to the kids when Trenton can't keep an eye on them," Jack said, amused. "Stephanie also saved someone that we thought was a threat and needed to be locked away."
"What are you two trying to say?" the Doctor asked, his concentration on his tea.
"That if our kids say that you and the TARDIS are lonely, we don't take that lightly," Ianto replied.
"So you plan to keep me locked up here?" The Doctor sighed and picked up a biscuit, bringing it close to his face to inspect it. After giving it a sniff, he bit into it.
"Ianto and I think it's okay to let the kids in the TARDIS," Jack said. "That is, if your offer is still open."
When the Doctor looked up, Ianto said, "One trip," holding up his forefinger. "And make it safe. We really do manage to keep the kids out of the way of danger when it's happening. We'd like to keep it that way."
"Of course it'll be safe. Oh come on, you two. Didn't we go to some places where we just had a good time, did some observing, shopping and enjoyed local customs?"
Jack and Ianto grinned at each other. "We'll leave in the morning, after the kids get their sleep," Jack stated.
"And please don't mention anything until after breakfast," Ianto added. "Or we'll never get them to sleep."
"Yes. Good. Brilliant!" The Doctor seemed in a much better mood than when he showed up.
They heard the two children come down the stairs excitedly.
Jack stood up and started for the hallway. "Slowly!" he called out, heading to meet them. "I don't want to be running to catch Ifan from doing wheelies down the stairs."
The Doctor's grin grew wider. "Fatherhood is good for Jack, yes?"
Ianto chuckled. "He still sometimes sounds like a Captain."
"Oh definitely."
The Doctor and Ianto laughed, and waited until Jack returned with the two children.
~TBC~